• Home
  • Latest News
    • ReLeaf Lake Mac >
      • MAC tree trail
      • Tiny Forest
      • National Tree Day
    • Repair It Lake Mac
    • Plastic free Lake Mac >
      • Plastic Free Cafes
      • Plastic free Toronto
      • Ban the bag >
        • Bag Swap Stations
        • Champions
      • Green gifts
    • Waste to Art >
      • 2021 Exhibition Guide
    • Our Community Gardens
    • Renewal 2022
    • Sharing and training opportunities >
      • Celebrate 2022
      • Previous events >
        • Gathering Feb 2022
        • Circular economy gathering
        • Coal Ash update
        • Gathering Feb 2021
        • Picnic and celebration
        • Virtual Catch Up
        • Empowerment workshop
        • Celebrate 2019
        • T-shirt Order
        • Cake and conversation June 2019
        • Celebrate 2018
        • Celebrate 2017
        • Celebrate 2016
        • Health and safety training
        • Recruiting young people
        • Recruiting volunteers
        • Tips and lessons
        • Grants and fundraising
        • Annual Show and Tell
        • Success session - May 2014
        • Online collaboration
    • Newsletter
    • Decade of Sustainable Neighbourhoods
    • Superstars
    • School sustainability
    • Success Stories >
      • Citywide Clean Up
      • Lake Mac Awards 2020
    • Responsible Cat Care
    • Dog brochure
    • Coastal Wetlands Park
  • Local groups
    • Belmont Area
    • Cardiff Area >
      • Pollinator Project
      • Boomerang Bags Sewing Group
      • Past projects >
        • Bird Count BBQ
        • Waste-free Christmas
        • Instagram competition
        • Car Boot Sales
        • Beeswax wrap making
        • National Tree Day
        • Twilight picnic in the park
        • Halloween @ Cardiff
        • Cardiff Cycleway Forum
        • Green coffee grounds
        • Boomerang Bags
        • Eco Angel Cardiff South
        • Wreath making
        • Compost bin making
        • Australia Day Award
        • Shortland Volunteer Award
        • Cardiff Landcare
        • CLEANas Presentation
        • Plant Swap
    • Dudley >
      • Dudley Community Garden
      • Dudley Mural
    • Five Bays >
      • Neighbourhood gathering
      • Pamper care project
      • Awaba State Conservation Area
    • Greater Charlestown >
      • Motherload screening
    • Morisset & Peninsula >
      • Eco articles
    • Pelican Area
    • Rathmines Area >
      • Beeswax wrap workshops
      • Acheivements
      • Kilaben Bay - Rathmines Pathway
      • Rathmines Master Plan
      • Wicking garden beds
      • Bag It Film
      • Rathmines Park Litter Project
      • Camping in park
      • Asbestos removal
      • Celebration 2017
    • Redhead >
      • Redhead Latest News
      • Redhead Village Newsletter
      • Redhead committee
      • Redhead community
      • Redhead Landcare
      • Redhead past events
    • Toronto Area >
      • Projects >
        • Picnic in the park
        • Brighton Ave Footpath
        • Fire Retardant Garden
        • Community Garden
        • Tossers can be binners
      • Vision
    • Valentine >
      • Walking in Valentine
    • Warners Bay Area >
      • Indigenous connection
      • Winter Nature Play Adventure
      • Autumn Nature Play Adventure
    • West Wallsend District >
      • Sugar Valley
      • New projects
      • Holmesville garden
      • Landcare
      • Achievements >
        • Old Waste, New Art 2015
      • Old Waste New Art
      • News
      • Gallery
  • The Alliance
    • Strategic plan
    • Annual Report
    • Volunteer >
      • Waste to Art Coordinator
      • Photographers and videographers
      • Social media
      • Minutes secretary
      • Promotions team
      • Young Leaders
      • Marketing specialist
      • Living Smart Festival 2019
    • Become a member >
      • Annual renewal
    • Strengthening Sustainable Neighbourhoods
    • Alliance Board >
      • Alliance Board Meetings
      • Alliance Meeting Minutes Archive
    • Alliance AGM
  • Resources
    • Volunteer induction
    • Year Planner
    • Governance
    • Planning and implementing
    • Community Gardens
    • Promoting your activities
    • Survey Results
    • SNAPs
  • Supporters
    • Business Supporters
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy
  Sustainable Neighbourhoods Lake Macquarie
Green gift ideas
Treat your loved ones to gifts that won't cost the Earth.
We've compiled a list of diy projects to show you how to make these beautiful and thoughtful gifts that your friends and family will love.

Sustainable Neighbourhood Groups regularly run workshops in these gift-making and other sustainability skills. Follow our Facebook page to find out when they are coming up.

Beeswax wraps
These reusable wraps can be used instead of plastic wrap to keep food fresh. You can make them yourself from simple materials and ingredients and just a bit of know-how.

View the video and instructions from the Cardiff Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group.
Picture
Picture
Picture

Christmas wreath
Create your very own centerpiece or decoration using local plants and beautiful things from your garden.

Watch the Cardiff Area Sustainable Negihbourhood Group demonstrating how to make wreaths with ABC Radio Newcastle.

There's also a video from Gardening Australia.

The Cardiff Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group regularly wreath making workshops.
Picture
Picture
Picture

Boomerang Bags
Make these attractive shopping bags from reclaimed fabric. They make a lovely gift in themselves, or you could use it as 'wrapping' for other gifts.

This video shows you step by step how to make a beautiful, practical bag with box corners.
Picture
Picture
Picture

Reusable produce bags
Help your friends and family take the next step in sustainability and avoid those single use plastic produce bags.
They are simple to sew, and can be made from a variety of materials. Something lightweight and see-through is best for using at the checkout.
One of the best materials is second-hand curtain lace - there's often plenty at the op shop.

1 Million Women have some sewing instructions here.
Picture

Body scrub
Make a delicious body scrub from simple ingredients, and avoid the plastic packaging and mysterious ingredients found in commercial products.
Your friends will be glowing (and smell amazing)!

Here's a recipe from 1 Million Women made from coffee, sugar and coconut oil. An internet search will show you lots of different recipes to try.
Picture

Christmas crackers and bon bons
Give your Christmas dinner a personal touch with homemade, reusable bon bons. They can be made from fabric or reclaimed paper, and filled with personalised treats

Laura Trotta suggests making them from fabric serviettes!
Picture

Furoshiki - fabric gift wrapping
Be inspired by this Japanese tradition and present your gift in a beautiful fabric, tea towel, reusable bag, or scarf!
Your gifts will look beautiful, be practical, and avoid the paper waste.

This story from 1 Million Women shows you how to do all sorts of fabric wraps.

This ABC story explains more about the tradition.
Picture

DIY cutlery holders
Never get caught out again! Make a cutlery wrap from scrap materials to carry your reusable cutlery, straw and napkin.

This post from Gippsland Unwrapped shows step by step how to make a holder, with a couple of design options.
Picture

Give an experience
Experiences like class membership, a national parks pass, charity donations or movie vouchers will give your loved ones precious memories instead of items that collect dust. The minimalist vegan blog has some great ideas for experiences to share. theminimalistvegan.com/gifting-experiences
Ideas for a plastic free festive season
Plastic Free July has some great ideas to host holiday events without spoiling any of the fun.
​plasticfreejuly.org/blog/how-to-host-a-plastic-free-festive-party
Clean Up Australia's Eco Friendly Christmas Guide
​Some tips to choose sustainable Christmas decorations, and to have an eco friendly Christmas.
​cleanup.org.au/ecofriendlychristmasguide

Find out what workshops and other Sustainable Neighbourhood events are coming up.
Picture
Sustainable Neighbourhoods Lake Macquarie
Our vision - Neighbourhoods that are empowered to live sustainably.
Our mission - Our work is to foster sustainable neighbourhoods and a healthy environment in Lake Macquarie
Our values - We are guided by our values of participation, inclusion, collaboration, empowerment and shared responsibility.
Picture
The Lake Macquarie Sustainable Neighbourhood Alliance is registered as a not for profit incorporated association under NSW Fair Trading. Sustainable Neighbourhood activities are managed and governed by volunteers and financed through grants, collaboration and community fundraising.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land and waters on which we live, work and play, the Awabakal People, and acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who now reside in this area. We pay our respect to Elders past and present, and future cultural knowledge holders.
Picture
Sustainable Neighbourhoods is an initiative of Lake Macquarie City Council.
www.lakemac.com.au
Picture
We are proud to be a Very Neighbourly Organisation and supporter of Neighbour Day.
www.neighbourday.org